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Pitcher in Red Sox roster mix ‘always wanted to give it another shot’ in US
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- Pitcher in Red Sox roster mix ‘always wanted to give it another shot’ in US
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox non-roster invitee Kyle Keller is trying to win an Opening Day roster spot after he spent the past four years pitching in Japan.
Manager Alex Cora recently mentioned the 32-year-old righty as a candidate for one of the final bullpen spots.
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"I was there (in Japan) for a long time," Keller said. "As comfortable as I was over there, it wasn't home. I always wanted to give it another shot. Just felt like it was a good time."
Keller struggled in his mid- to late 20s, posting a 5.83 ERA in 44 relief outings across three seasons with the Marlins (2019), the Angels (2020) and the Pirates (2021). At 28, Keller decided to head to Japan, signing a contract with the Hanshin Tigers.
He recorded a 2.21 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 206 strikeouts and 71 walks in 186 appearances (179 ⅓ innings) from 2022-25 for Hanshin and Yomiuri. He averaged 10.3 strikeouts and 3.6 walks per nine innings.
"I was able to have more fun there for a while and just kind of pitch free," he said. "Forty-thousand, 50,000 in the stands every night. So that was a cool part — to just get out there and compete after getting my butt kicked in the big leagues for a while. I was able to pitch well and it made me a better pitcher."
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Keller added a split-finger fastball to his repertoire while in Japan.
"Obviously, you're a pitcher, you always want to get better some way," he said. "Experimenting. I was able to go over there and learn a new pitch."
Keller will earn a $1.9 million base salary if he makes the major league roster. His contract — which is high for a non-roster invitee — also allows him to make $500,000 in potential performance bonuses.
He has an upward mobility/assignment clause that kicks in on April 15. That would allow him to seek a roster spot with other clubs, and the Red Sox then have the chance to keep him if they choose to match another team's offer by placing him on their own 40-man roster.
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He has more opt-out opportunities later in the season and a foreign inquiry clause that allows teams from Japan and Korea to pursue him if he's not in the majors.
Nine major league teams expressed interest, including one that offered more money than the Red Sox.
"They (the Red Sox) showed interest in me in years past and I felt like they had the most interest and we have had the best conversations leading up to this year," he said.
Keller said he went year-to-year in Japan, signing one-year deals to leave the door open. He reevaluated after each season.
"It was always like, 'I might come back, I might stay.' And you're back and forth every year," he said. "( Boston ) just felt like the right spot. Since being here for a month, I've definitely improved myself and still do feel like it's the right spot."
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Keller has had mixed results so far in spring training games. He allowed a home run against the Twins on Thursday and has given up four runs on five hits with six walks and three strikeouts in 5 ⅔ innings.
"It's a different angle," Cora said before Thursday's game. "Good stuff. We haven't been consistent in getting in the strike zone throughout camp, but he's done it before. Obviously going overseas and kind of like find it, quote-unquote. So hopefully translates here. But so far it's been hit or miss. He gets two outs, walks one, and then stuff happens. But the stuff is there."
Keller said his favorite part of playing in Japan was having family and friends visit.
"There's plenty of reasons to go to Japan, but coming to see me play is a good reason," he said. "Just had a lot of good trips and good times out there with my family, friends, my girlfriend. And really, it's a great country. Great food."
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He said his favorite food was the beef.
"I ate a lot of beef," he said. "The fish is great. You can't go wrong. It's so good."
He played a lot of golf when he lived there.
"I love golf and they love golf so that's still a way to connect with your teammates and guys over there," he said. "And really socially, it was just going out to a lot of dinners and going out to eat food."
He learned some Japanese, although he said his proficiency is at "a very low level." Still, he said baseball functions as a universal language.
"And a lot of the (baseball) terms and things are similar in Japanese," Keller said. "But if you're really diving into something like a scouting report, you're probably going to need a translator there. But as far as everyday baseball talk, it's pretty universal."
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